Forced prostitution, awso known as invowuntary prostitution, is prostitution or sexuaw swavery dat takes pwace as a resuwt of coercion by a dird party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appear in internationaw and humanitarian conventions such as Rome Statute of de Internationaw Criminaw Court[1] but have been insufficientwy understood and inconsistentwy appwied. "Forced prostitution" refers to conditions of controw over a person who is coerced by anoder to engage in sexuaw activity.[2]

Forced prostitution is a crime against de person because of de viowation of de victim's rights of movement drough coercion and because of deir commerciaw expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Forced prostitution is iwwegaw under customary waw in aww countries.[3] This is different from vowuntary prostitution which may have a different wegaw status in different countries, which range from being fuwwy iwwegaw and punishabwe by deaf[4] to being wegaw and reguwated as an occupation, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Whiwe de wegawity of aduwt prostitution varies between jurisdictions, de prostitution of chiwdren is iwwegaw nearwy everywhere in de worwd.

Chiwd prostitution is considered inherentwy non-consensuaw and expwoitative, as chiwdren, because of deir age, are not wegawwy abwe to consent. In most countries chiwd prostitution is iwwegaw irrespective of de chiwd reaching a wower statutory age of consent.

In many countries, especiawwy poorer countries, chiwd prostitution remains a very serious probwem, and numerous tourists from de Western Worwd travew to dese countries to engage in chiwd sex tourism. Thaiwand, Cambodia, India, Braziw and Mexico have been identified as weading hotspots of chiwd sexuaw expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[12]

Fowwowing de first internationaw conference on de prevention of trafficking of women in Paris in 1885 a series of initiatives to restrict de trade of women into de sex trade were initiated. Bof de League of Nations and de United Nations have addressed de issue.[14]

A 2010 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report estimates dat gwobawwy, 79% of identified victims of human trafficking were trafficked for sexuaw expwoitation, 18% for forced wabor, and 3% for oder forms of expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 2011, prewiminary European Commission in September 2011 simiwarwy estimated dat among human-trafficking victims, 75% were trafficked for sexuaw expwoitation and de rest for forced wabor or oder forms of expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[15]

Due to de iwwegaw nature of prostitution and de different medodowogies used in separating forced prostitution from vowuntary prostitution, de extent of dis phenomenon is difficuwt to estimate accuratewy. According to a 2008 report by de U.S. Department of State: "Annuawwy, according to U.S. Government-sponsored research compweted in 2006, 600,000 to 800,000 peopwe are trafficked across nationaw borders, which does not incwude miwwions trafficked widin deir own countries. Approximatewy 80% of transnationaw victims are women and girws and up to 50% are minors, and de majority of transnationaw victims are trafficked into commerciaw sexuaw expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah."[16] A 2014 European Commission report found dat from 2010 to 2013, a totaw of 30,146 peopwe were registered as victims of human trafficking in de 28 member states of de European Union; of dese, 69% were victims of sexuaw expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[17]

In 2004, The Economist cwaimed dat onwy a smaww proportion of prostitutes were expwicitwy trafficked against deir wiww.[6]

The Protocow to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especiawwy Women and Chiwdren (awso referred to as de Pawermo Protocow) is a protocow to de United Nations Convention against Transnationaw Organized Crime and defines human trafficking as de "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of de dreat or use of force or oder forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of de abuse of power or of a position of vuwnerabiwity or of de giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve de consent of a person having controw over anoder person, for de purpose of expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah."[19] For dis reason, dreat, coercion, or use of force is not necessary to constitute trafficking, de expwoitation of an existing vuwnerabiwity – such as economic vuwnerabiwity or sexuaw vuwnerabiwity – is sufficient. Sigma Huda, UN speciaw reporter on trafficking in persons, observed dat "For de most part, prostitution as actuawwy practiced in de worwd usuawwy does satisfy de ewements of trafficking."[20][21] However Save de Chiwdren see expwicit trafficking and prostitution as different issues: "The issue [human trafficking] however, gets mired in controversy and confusion when prostitution too is considered as a viowation of de basic human rights of bof aduwt women and minors, and eqwaw to sexuaw expwoitation per se. From dis standpoint den, trafficking and prostitution become confwated wif each oder".[22]

Wif regard to prostitution, dree worwdviews exist: abowitionism (where de prostitute is considered a victim), reguwation (where de prostitute is considered a worker) and prohibitionism (where de prostitute is considered a criminaw). Currentwy aww dese views are represented in some Western country.

For de proponents of de abowitionist view, prostitution is awways a coercive practice, and de prostitute is seen as a victim. They argue dat most prostitutes are forced into de practice, eider directwy, by pimps and traffickers, indirectwy drough poverty, drug addiction and oder personaw probwems, or, as it has been argued in recent decades by radicaw feminists such as Andrea Dworkin, Mewissa Farwey and Cadarine MacKinnon, merewy by patriarchaw sociaw structures and power rewations between men and women, uh-hah-hah-hah.[23]
Wiwwiam D. Angew finds dat "most" prostitutes have been forced into de occupation drough poverty, wack of education and empwoyment possibiwities.[24]Kadween Barry argues dat dere shouwd be no distinction between "free" and "coerced", "vowuntary" and "invowuntary" prostitution, "since any form of prostitution is a human rights viowation, an affront to womanhood dat cannot be considered dignified wabour".[25]
France's Green Party argues: "The concept of "free choice" of de prostitute is indeed rewative, in a society where gender ineqwawity is institutionawized".[26] The proponents of de abowitionist view howd dat prostitution is a practice which uwtimatewy weads to de mentaw, emotionaw and physicaw destruction of de women who engage in it, and, as such, it shouwd be abowished. As a resuwt of such views on prostitution, Sweden,[7]Norway[27] and Icewand[28] have enacted waws which criminawize de cwients of de prostitutes, but not de prostitutes demsewves.

In contrast to de abowitionist view, dose who are in favour of wegawization do not consider de women who practice prostitution as victims, but as independent aduwt women who had made a choice which shouwd be respected. Mariska Majoor, former prostitute and founder of de Prostitution Information Center, from Amsterdam, howds dat: "In our [sex workers'] eyes it's a profession, a way of making money; it's important dat we are reawistic about dis ... Prostitution is not bad; it's onwy bad if done against one's wiww. Most women make dis decision demsewves."[29] According to proponents of reguwation, prostitution shouwd be considered a wegitimate activity, which must be recognized and reguwated, in order to protect de workers' rights and to prevent abuse. The prostitutes are treated as sex workers who enjoy benefits simiwar to oder occupations. The Worwd Charter for Prostitutes Rights (1985), drafted by de Internationaw Committee for Prostitutes' Rights, cawws for de decriminawisation of "aww aspects of aduwt prostitution resuwting from individuaw decision".[25] Since de mid-1970s, sex workers across de worwd have organised, demanding de decriminawisation of prostitution, eqwaw protection under de waw, improved working conditions, de right to pay taxes, travew and receive sociaw benefits such as pensions.[30] As a resuwt of such views on prostitution, countries such as Germany,[6] de Nederwands[7] and New Zeawand[7] have fuwwy wegawized prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Prostitution is considered a job wike any oder.

In its understanding of de distinction between sex work and forced prostitution,[31] de Open Society Foundations organization states: "sex work is done by consenting aduwts, where de act of sewwing or buying sexuaw services is not a viowation of human rights".[32]

Sexuaw discrimination happens to dose who work bof in sex work and forced prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Historicawwy, crimes invowving viowence against women and having to do wif prostitution and sex work have been taken wess seriouswy by de waw. Awdough acts such as de Viowence Against Women Act have been passed to take steps toward preventing such viowence, dere is stiww sexism rooted in de way dat de wegaw system approaches dese cases. Gender based viowence is a serious form of discrimination dat has swipped drough many cracks in de wegaw system of de United States.[33] These efforts have fawwen short due to de fact dat dere is no constitutionaw protection for women against discrimination, uh-hah-hah-hah.

There is often no evidence, according to powice, dat when men are arrested for sowiciting a prostitute dat it is a gender based crime. However, dere are warge discrepancies between de arrests of prostitutes and de arrests of men caught in de act. Whiwe 70% of prostitution rewated arrests are of woman prostitutes, onwy 10% of rewated arrests are men/customers.[34] Regardwess if de girw or woman is eider underage or forced into de exchange, she is stiww often arrested and victim bwamed instead of being offered resources. The men who are charged wif engaging in dese iwwegaw acts wif woman who are prostitutes are abwe to pay for de exchange and derefore are usuawwy abwe to pay for deir rewease whiwe de woman may not be abwe to. This generates a cycwe of viowence against women, as de situation’s outcome favors de man, uh-hah-hah-hah. In one case, a nineteen-year-owd woman in Okwahoma was charged wif offering to engage in prostitution when de woman was known to have previouswy been a victim of human sex trafficking.[35] She is an exampwe of how de criminawization of prostitution often weads to women being arrested muwtipwe times due to de fact dat dey are often punished or arrested even when de victim of a situation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[35] Young women and girws have a much higher wikewihood of getting arrested for prostitution dan boys in generaw, and woman victims of human trafficking often end up being arrested upon muwtipwe occasions, being registered as a sex offender, and being institutionawized. The wack of rehabiwitation given to women after experiences wif human sex trafficking contributes to de cycwes of arrests dat most woman who engage in prostitution face.

The ERA or Eqwaw Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to de U.S Constitution dat has not yet been ratified. It wouwd guarantee dat eqwaw rights couwd not be denied under de waw on account of sex.[36] Wif dis amendment in pwace, it wouwd awwow for sex workers and victims of human sex trafficking to have wegaw weverage when it comes to de discrepancies in how men and women (customers and prostitutes) are prosecuted. This is due to de fact dat dere wouwd be wegaw grounds to argue de uneqwaw wegaw treatment on account of sex, which is not currentwy outwawed by de U.S constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awdough dere are oder acts and waws dat protect against discrimination based on a variety of categories and identities, dey are often not substantiaw enough, provide woophowes, and do not offer adeqwate protection, uh-hah-hah-hah.[37] This connects to wiberaw feminism and de more individuawistic approach dat comes wif dis deory. Liberaw feminists bewieve dat dere shouwd be eqwawity between de sexes and dis shouwd be gained drough eqwaw wegaw rights, eqwaw education, and women having "greater sewf vawue as individuaws".[38] This deory focuses on eqwawity at a more individuaw wevew as supposed to redinking wegaw systems demsewves or systems of gender, just as de ERA works for de eqwawity of sexes widin an existing system.

In Mexico, many criminaw organisations wure, and capture women and use dem in brodews. Once de women become usewess to de organisations, dey are often kiwwed. Often, de criminaw organisations focus on poor, unempwoyed girws, and wure dem via job offerings (reguwar jobs), done via biwwboards and posters, pwaced on de streets. In some cities, wike Ciudad Juárez, dere is a high degree of corruption in aww wevews on de sociaw wadder (powice, courts, ...) which makes it more difficuwt to combat dis criminaw activity. Hotews where women are kept and which are known by de powice are often awso not raided/cwosed down by powice. Nor are de job offerings activewy investigated.[47] Some NGO's such as Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. are trying to fight back, often widout much success.

In de US, in 2002, de US Department of State repeated an earwier CIA estimate dat each year, about 50,000 women and chiwdren are brought against deir wiww to de United States for sexuaw expwoitation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[48][49] Former Secretary of StateCowin Poweww said dat "[h]ere and abroad, de victims of trafficking toiw under inhuman conditions – in brodews, sweatshops, fiewds and even in private homes."[50] In addition to internationawwy trafficked victims, American citizens are awso forced into prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. According to de Nationaw Center for Missing and Expwoited Chiwdren, "100,000 to 293,000 chiwdren are in danger of becoming sexuaw commodities."[51]

Eastern European women are trafficked to severaw Middwe Eastern countries, incwuding Turkey and de United Arab Emirates.[52] Untiw 2004, Israew was a destination for human trafficking for de sex industry.[53]

A high number of de Iraqi women fweeing de Iraq War turned to prostitution, whiwe oders were trafficked abroad, to countries wike Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, de United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran, uh-hah-hah-hah.[54] In Syria awone, an estimated 50,000 Iraqi refugee girws and women, many of dem widows, had become prostitutes.[55] Cheap Iraqi prostitutes hewped to make Syria a popuwar destination for sex tourists before de Syrian Civiw War. The cwients come from weawdier countries in de Middwe East.[56] High prices are offered for virgins.[56][57]

In Asia, Japan is de major destination country for trafficked women, especiawwy from de Phiwippines and Thaiwand. The US State Department has rated Japan as eider a ‘Tier 2’ or a ‘Tier 2 Watchwist’ country every year since 2001, in its annuaw Trafficking in Persons reports. Bof dese ratings impwied dat Japan was (to a greater or wesser extent) not fuwwy compwiant wif minimum standards for de ewimination of human trafficking trade.[58] As of 2009, an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 peopwe are trafficked drough Soudeast Asia, much of it for prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[59] It is common dat Thai women are wured to Japan and sowd to Yakuza-controwwed brodews where dey are forced to work off deir price.[60][61] Furder in Japan, prejudice and de absence of anti-discrimination acts often drive a transwoman into forced prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[citation needed] In Cambodia at weast a qwarter of de 20,000 peopwe working as prostitutes are chiwdren wif some being as young as 5.[62] By de wate 1990s, UNICEF estimated dat dere are 60,000 chiwd prostitutes in de Phiwippines, describing Angewes City brodews as "notorious" for offering sex wif chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah.[63]

For de wast decade it has been estimated dat 6,000 - 7,000 girws are trafficked out of Nepaw each year. But dese numbers have recentwy risen substantiawwy. Current numbers for girws trafficked out of de country are now 10,000 to 15,000 yearwy. This is compounded as de US Centraw Intewwigence Agency states dat most trafficked girws are currentwy worf, in deir span as a sex-worker, approx $250,000 (USD) on de sex-trades market.[64]

The Norf Korean state engages in forced prostitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Girws as young as 14 years owd are drafted to work in de kippŭmjo. Not aww kippŭmjo work as prostitutes; de source used is uncwear as to wheder onwy aduwt women are assigned to prostitution, or wheder dere is prostitution of chiwdren. Oder kippŭmjo activities are massaging and hawf-naked singing and dancing. According to de same source from Apriw 2005, "60 to 70% of [Norf Korean] defectors [in de Peopwe's Repubwic of China] are women, 70 to 80% of whom are victims of human trafficking." Norf Korean audorities severewy punish or even kiww repatriated prostitutes and kiww deir Chinese-fadered chiwdren, born and unborn awike.[65]

German miwitary brodews were set up by de Third Reich during Worwd War II droughout much of occupied Europe for de use of Wehrmacht and SS sowdiers.[66] These brodews were generawwy new creations, but in de West, dey were sometimes set up using existing brodews as weww as many oder buiwdings. Untiw 1942, dere were around 500 miwitary brodews of dis kind in German-occupied Europe.[67] Often operating in confiscated hotews and guarded by de Wehrmacht, dese faciwities used to serve travewwing sowdiers and dose widdrawn from de front.[68][69] According to records, at weast 34,140 European women were forced to serve as prostitutes during de German occupation of deir own countries awong wif femawe prisoners of concentration camp brodews.[66] In many cases in Eastern Europe, de women invowved were kidnapped on de streets of occupied cities during German miwitary and powice round ups cawwed łapanka or rafwe.[68][69]

In Worwd War II, Nazi Germany estabwished brodews in de concentration camps (Lagerbordeww) to create an incentive for prisoners to cowwaborate, awdough dese institutions were used mostwy by Kapos, "prisoner functionaries" and de criminaw ewement, because reguwar inmates, penniwess and emaciated, were usuawwy too debiwitated and wary of exposure to Schutzstaffew (SS) schemes. In de end, de camp brodews did not produce any noticeabwe increase in de prisoners' work productivity wevews, but instead, created a market for coupons among de camp VIPs.[70] The women forced into dese brodews came mainwy from de Ravensbrück concentration camp,[71] except for Auschwitz, which empwoyed its own prisoners.[66] In combination wif de German miwitary brodews in Worwd War II, it is estimated dat at weast 34,140 femawe inmates were forced into sexuaw swavery during de Third Reich.[66]

Young women from countries under Japanese Imperiaw controw were reportedwy abducted from deir homes. In some cases, women were awso recruited wif offers to work in de miwitary.[79] It has been documented dat de Japanese miwitary itsewf recruited women by force.[80] However, Japanese historian Ikuhiko Hata stated dat dere was no organized forced recruitment of comfort women by de Japanese government or miwitary.[81]

The number and nature of comfort women servicing de Japanese miwitary during Worwd War II is stiww being activewy debated, and de matter is stiww highwy powiticaw in bof Japan and de rest of de Far East Asia.[82]

Many miwitary brodews were run by private agents and supervised by de Korean Powice. Some Japanese historians, using de testimony of ex-comfort women, have argued dat de Imperiaw Japanese Army and Navy were eider directwy or indirectwy invowved in coercing, deceiving, wuring, and sometimes kidnapping young women droughout Japan's Asian cowonies and occupied territories.[83]

In Soudern India & eastern Indian state of Odisha, devadasi is de practice of hieroduwic prostitution, wif simiwar customary forms such as basavi,[84] and invowves dedicating pre-pubescent and young adowescent girws from viwwages in a rituaw marriage to a deity or a tempwe, who den work in de tempwe and function as spirituaw guides, dancers, and prostitutes servicing mawe devotees in de tempwe. Human Rights Watch reports cwaim dat devadasis are forced into dis service and, at weast in some cases, to practice prostitution for upper-caste members.[85]

Various state governments in India enacted waws to ban dis practice bof prior to India's independence and more recentwy. They incwude Bombay Devdasi Act, 1934, Devdasi (Prevention of dedication) Madras Act, 1947, Karnataka Devdasi (Prohibition of dedication) Act, 1982, and Andhra Pradesh Devdasi (Prohibition of dedication) Act, 1988.[86] However, de tradition continues in certain regions of India, particuwarwy de states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.[87]

^According to journawist Satoshi Ikeuchi: "Even dough de forcibwe recruitment of women was not systematicawwy impwemented, de (Japanese) government shouwd acknowwedge its moraw responsibiwity if any singwe woman victimized by de private operators drough fraud, expwoitation, viowence or oder acts of intimidation comes forward to teww her story. The government shouwd do so because de miwitary gave consent to set up brodews for sowdiers and had responsibiwity for overseeing dem.» «In dis context, de issue of de so-cawwed comfort women was invested wif extreme importance as de epitome of Japanese sin from de viewpoint of some and became de focaw point of contention, The excessive effort by weftists and wiberaws in powiticizing dis issue as one of de few means weft to shake conservative dominance, by extending de notion of coercion to de extreme, resuwted in awienating a warge part of de nation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Their open intention to cowwude wif rising tides of hostiwe nationawism in Korea and China awso hardened de minds of many in Japan, uh-hah-hah-hah." 25 Apriw 2007. Satoshi Ikeuchi, Overcoming postwar mind-set, Daiwy Yomuri Onwine, 25 Apriw 2007.